JELLYFISH BASED NOVEL FOOD PRODUCTS IN EUROPE: A STORY IS STARTING

Introduction:

In Europe, as well as in many other western countries, jellyfish (JF) are not a traditional food, they are not usually consumed and the JF market is probably limited to Asiatic communities. The use and marketing of JF in Europe is still hindered by the regulation on novel food (Commission Regulation EU 2283/2015) and mainly by the absence of standard methods for the treatment and processing of the raw material according to the EU safety standards. JF is considered a traditional food in Asian countries, such as China, Japan, Korea, Thailand which host the majority of consumers and producers. Although JF did not make its way to European consumers, some JF species originating from the EU were exported to East Asia for consumption.

 Traditionally JF are soaked in a mixture of NaCl and aluminum salts. This procedure reduces the water content and changes the JF gelatinous tissue into the consistency expected for the final edible product. This product is generally characterized by a crispy and firm texture highly appreciated by the Eastern market. However, aluminium , that is so extensively used in this procedure, is supposed to cause memory impairment and cognitive dysfunctions, which would lead to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease . Then, a reduction of dietary intake of aluminium is highly recommended. In Europe a Tolerable Weekly Intake (TWI) was established of 1 mg aluminium /kg body weight/week; however, the limits could even be more restrictive for overexposed populations.

Then, new processes have to be designed to obtain final products observing safety and quality standards, maintaining nutritional traits, having sensory properties suitable for Western consumers. This is particularly true for raw material that has no history as food in western Countries and specifically in the European area (Torri et al., 2019) . In within the GoJelly H2020 project, a new process and jellyfish-based products were developed.

Material & Methods :

An accurate search of possible already existing methods for JF processing/treatment for food uses was performed. Then, the laws in force in terms of food safety and process hygiene criteria were  considered  to establish the most important quality and safety parameters, in compliance with European Union laws, to be applied to JF-based foods.

Rhizostoma pulmo was used as a model  of edible JF  for the setting-up of the processing  procedure. Among all already available food additives and information on their possible use in EU, U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand, some of them were chosen for treating JF tissue, in order to reduce the development of enzymatic activities and undesired microorganisms and to improve the texture and nutraceutical traits of the semi-finished product. 

 Safety assays (microbiological, biogenic amines), physico -chemical (texture, pH, salinity), nutritional (fatty acids, protein content, antioxidant activity, elemental content, aminoacids , etc.) analyses were performed on JF treated samples. Accredited standard parameters established by the law in force regarding food safety and process hygiene criteria were also applied.

 A  completely new jellyfish processing chain for the design of human foods in a “western style” was developed at CNR-ISPA, Italy, on Mediterranean species, and tr eated JF were used to design and preparation of different new  jellyfish-based food prototypes. They were tested for safety , quality , sensory traits, as well as for their shelf-life. The procedure was also tested on JF species sent to Italy from the other GoJelly partners.

Results :

 In the absence of specific indications, a set of market safety standards in force in Europe for food products comparable to JF, together with diverse essential hygienic criteria valid for fish and fish-derived foods in some European Member States, were considered and  successfully  applied to the barrel JF, Rhizostoma pulmo , from the Ionian Sea Italian coasts, that was assessed as  a model for human food.

 A protocol for the stabilization and processing of  R. pulmo JF into a semi-finished food product without using alum was developed at CNR-ISPA, Italy . Safety and quality parameters, together with a series of technological and nutritional traits were used to monitor and characterize the JF obtained products (Bleve et al., 2019) .  Some  food thickening/stabilizing agents allowed in  the  EU were able to control possible microbial pathogens and spoilage species to increase  the  texture and nutritional traits.

Different new food prototypes obtained by treated JF were studied at laboratory scale: a) drying; b) cooking under vacuum; c) formulation of new JF-based foods . Laboratory-scale prepared food prototypes were tested for main  quality  and sensory traits and preliminary data on the final product shelf-life were produced. Finally in collaboration with professional chefs JF-based recipes were proposed.

 Discussion & Conclusion:

A new flow chain for JF preparations, from the starting material to semi-finished food products, was developed (Figure 1) .

The obtained products are very different from the traditional Asiatic ones. Still the possible production of JF as human food by replacing alum with salts allowed by the EU regulations as stabilizing and thickening agents, was demonstrated. This new procedure can offer new food chain  opportunities  based on JF and JF-derived foods to be considered novel food acceptable in  the  EU. A European Patent describing the developed procedure was deposited by CNR-ISPA, Italy, on July 2020.

 The proposed method can  also  be applied for the stabilization/treatment of other abundant and putatively edible JF species in Mediterranean Basin and in other Seas. New JF based food prototypes following a “Western Style” have been designed.

Literature

−                       Bleve , G., Ramires , F.A., Gallo, G. & Leone, A.  2019.  Identification of Safety and Quality Parameters for Preparation of Jellyfish Based Novel Food Products. Foods 2019, 8(7), 263; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8070263

−                        Leone, A. 2020.  European Jellyfish CookBook. @CnrEdizioni,2020, https://doi.org/10.48257/BLE-001

−                        Torri, L., Tuccillo, F., Bonelli, S., Piraino, S. & Leone, A.  2019.  The attitudes of Italian consumers towards jellyfish as novel food. Food Quality and Preference, 79 (2019) 103782, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103782.